Wang Zhi Yi wins Badminton Asia Championships: Key stats
Unseeded Wang Zhi Yi beat the world champion, Akane Yamaguchi, in the final of the 2022 Badminton Asia Championships on Sunday. The world number 16 trailed the first game 15-21 but bounced back to win the next two games 21-13, 21-19. The match lasted an hour and a half. It was Zhi Yi's maiden title at the tournament. Here are more details.
Zhi Yi's journey in the 2022 BAC
In the first round, Zhi Yi overcame the number seven seed Busanan Ongbamrungphan 12-21, 21-5, 21-15. In the second round, she beat Saina Nehwal 12-21, 21-7, 21-13. She then breezed past Wen Chi Hsu 21-19, 21-9. In the semis, she thumped the number two seed An Seyoung 10-21, 21-12, 21-16. Lastly, she beat the number one seed, Akane Yamaguchi, in three sets.
How did the match pan out?
The match lasted an hour and 18 minutes. Zhi Yi surrendered the first game 15-21. She fought back in the second game, pocketing seven consecutive points at one stage, to claim a 21-13 win. In the decider, she took a massive lead of 17-6 but lost momentum in the later stages. Nonetheless, she eventually won 21-19 and claimed her maiden gold at the tourney.
A look at Zhi Yi's performance in 2022
World number 16 Zhi Yi has a 9-4 win-loss record this season. She exited in the round of 32 at the YONEX GAINWARD German Open and YONEX All England Open Badminton Championships. She was ousted in the round of 16 at the Korea Open Badminton Championships. She was a semi-finalist at the Gwangju YONEX Korea Masters. She has now won the 2022 BAC.
A look at Zhi Yi's career achievements
Zhi enjoys a 131-32 win record in women's singles. She won bronze at the World Junior Championships (2018). Zhi Yi won gold at the Badminton Asia Championships (2022). She has claimed three BWF World Tour titles in 2019 (US Open, Indonesia Masters, and Dutch Open). She has won four titles in the BWF International Challenge/Series (2018-19 Malaysia International; Austrian Open, and Belarus International 2019).
